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Back Shelf Beauties
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A History of Violence Viggo Mortensen stars as Tom Stall - a quiet man running a diner in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana. Tom's simple and fulfilling life is a Rockwell painting of Americana as he raises his family on a small farm and madly loves his wife, Edie (Maria Bello). Sadly, his wonderful dream life is shattered when two killers on a crime spree decide to rob Tom's diner late one evening. To their surprise, Tom knows how to handle himself, and becomes a hero for saving his employees and the customers. After all of the press and attention from the townspeople, three strange and dangerous men show up in Stall's Diner. Their leader, Mr. Fogarty (Ed Harris), believes Tom really is an old adversary by the name of Joey, and he has come to settle an old score. Who is Joey? Has Tom been hiding a secret past life for years and years? Is Mr. Fogarty confused and mistaken? A History of Violence is a great movie … for an hour. After that, it falls apart due to a lack of drama, miscasting and a pointless ending. Director David Cronenberg does a fabulous job creating an eerily quiet tone where the audience is on edge waiting for something horrible to happen at any moment, and perfectly films the violent fight scenes so we can see exactly what is happening (which is not for those with weak stomachs). He fills the movie with raw emotion that flies off the screen, whether it be passion (WOW, lots of hot "passion" in this one), hate or anger, but Cronenberg can't save a bad script. Writer Josh Olson (based on the graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke) doesn't create any wonderful dialogue, and that ending is the most misguided I have seen since The Forgotten. This plot is ripe for more information and intrigue, and should be 100% focused on whether or not Tom is Joey, but Olson doesn't build it that way. We get a good scene of Mr. Fogarty stalking Edie and placing some doubt about Tom in her head, but we need more of that. Why not have Mr. Fogarty stalk and converse with every person in Tom's life and build a crescendoing chorus of doubt throughout the movie? Instead, Cronenberg and Olson tie up the main drama much too early, which leaves us wondering what the rest of the film is about. Literally, we understand the last half hour, but artistically it is several steps below the wonderfully crafted first hour and feels quite anticlimactic. Most of these performers deserve better. Mortensen puts in a great performance as the small town, shy, quiet family man caught up in a world of trouble he never could have imagined, but he's smart enough to keep the mystery alive as he plays with his voice and eyes to make us question his past. Furthermore, the audience always feels his emotions and strength no matter the situation, even though he doesn't say much or make grand gestures. Conversely, Harris is much more overt in his performance, and gives creepy a new name. The gravelly voice, the horrible facial scarring and his gruff manner are the opposite of Mortensen's, but equally effective. Even Bello creates something out of a secondary character who doesn't get enough screen time or dialogue. She's the loving, supportive wife, but her actions, temper and passion suggest a deeper person who is not revealed to the audience. Given more to do, Bello could have explained Edie's past to us. Sadly, William Hurt comes into the movie much too late and in the portion of the film that stinks (OK, it doesn't stink, but it is out of place). He's hammy and over the top in a role he never should have taken. The audience (and this writer) started to laugh and giggle as he chewed the scenery and displayed one of the worst accents I have heard from an actor. Usually, I like Hurt, but his performance caused pain to A History of Violence. It's sad to see what could have been great become very average right before your eyes (Red Sox fans can relate, hehehehehehe), but A History of Violence does that for the audience. 2 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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